Finding Comfort in Jesus Christ

He comforts us when we are alone

Of all the people to be born on this Earth, none has walked a lonelier path than that of one man: Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 63:3 Christ says, “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me” and in verse 5 He says, “and I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was non to uphold”.  The life of Jesus Christ was spent devoted to others. All He ever did was heal those around Him, whether physically or spiritually. Never was there a time when He denied anyone His love. He sat at dinner with sinners, He stopped for the women who touched his clothes, He was there for Jairus when His daughter needed saving, and He was there to comfort and mourn with Mary and Martha over Lazarus’ death. In the Bible Dictionary under Comforter, it states that “Jesus Christ is the second Comforter and that when any man obtains this comforter, Christ will attend to him.”

Not only is He our comforter now, but He was the comforter even while He walked the roads of Galilee.

After spending His life doing nothing but helping others, Christ was left alone by those He loved most in His greatest hour of need. Was it necessary? What if Judas had not betrayed Him, or His disciples stayed with Him to the bitter end?  I believe it was necessary for Christ to go through betrayal, loneliness, hurt, and physical pain, in order to comfort us. I know there have been many times in my own life when I felt utterly and completely alone. Living in Cambodia with my parents was just one of those times. I left my comfortable home in Utah feeling excited about this new adventure, however after only a couple of months I realized it was not going to be as easy as I thought. Being mission presidents, there were times when I didn’t see my parents hardly at all, and doing things with friends wasn’t likely as they would all go to bars on the weekends. After a  After spending lots of time on my knees crying to my Father in Heaven, I finally understood the Atonement. And that’s the one thing that kept me going. Knowing that Jesus Christ experienced and felt EXACTLY what I was going through gave me the strength to keep going. One of my favorite hymns reads,

bout 6 months I started to feel very alone.

“Be still my soul: The Lord is on thy side;

With patience bear they cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change he faithful will remain.

Be still my soul: Thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul: Thy God doth undertake.

To guide the future as he has the past

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

all now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

Jesus Christ did not suffer all of our pain and sorrow just to sit back and watch us. He suffered so that He could actively help us and I know that He is close to each one of us. I also know that there are times when it seems like He is not close. It may seem like He is too far from us. However, it is at these times when we need to remember that He is the one that inspired that friend to call, or that neighbor to give you a nice note. Sometimes the comfort that He gives us isn’t in the way we imagined it would be. He is constantly sending angels from both sides of the veil to help and rescue us. Let’s be quicker to slow down and notice the presence of our Savior and His angels with and around us. He is there and He is waiting at our door. All we need to do is open the door and His warm light will fill the void within us.

He comforts us when we don’t know where to go

As young adults we are in a time in our life when we have a lot of questions and it can seem like life is a little confusing. But we need not fear the unknown because, as it says in the Hymn I read earlier, “Thy God doth undertake. To guide the future as he has the past”. Our Savior has promised and committed Himself to us. Just like a contracted architecture is committed to building a beautiful structure, our Savior is committed to guiding us in life so that we can live up to the divine potential He knows we have. President Monson says, “ I promise that one day you will stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you”. His plan is not for us to fail, but for us to be successful. And even if we do fail or get lost along the journey, He will be there to pick us up and comfort us.

When I was probably around the age of 11 or 12 my family and I participated in a humanitarian project in Peru. While we were there we had the opportunity of climbing to the top of Wisnu Pichu. I was young and definitely not anticipating how long, hard, or steep it would be. About half way up I was completely exhausted. My brothers and sisters were all far ahead of me and all I could see was step after giant step (the climb is just steep stairs the whole way). I felt like it was never going to end. In frustration and despair I finally sat down in tears and exhaustion. My mom and dad, who stayed behind with me, stopped and asked me if I was okay. My mom told me that she was more than willing to go back down with me if I wanted as she had already climbed it once before. At first I wanted nothing more than to get off the mountain, but then I realized that if I did not make it to the top I would regret it for the rest of my life. So, with the help and encouragement of my parents I made it to the top. Every time I felt like giving up, my mom was right behind me saying, “just take one step at a time”, “you can do it”, etc. Her being there with me was the only thing that got me to the top.

My mother’s actions remind me of the Savior. Most of the time we can’t see the finish line or the end product of what we are doing. To me that can be really scary. Will the climb get steeper and harder? Yes it might and in fact it probably will. But that is no reason for us to give up or feel discouraged. Just as my mom was there for me every step of the way to the top of the mountain, Jesus Christ is with us every step of the way. He has walked the path of life before and He knows how it is. In his talk “Safety for the Soul” Elder Holland says, “Love. Healing. Help. Hope. The power of Christ to counter all troubles in all times…that is the safe harbor God wants for us in personal or public days of despair”.

He comforts us when we have made mistakes.

One of my favorite scenes in the New Testament is when Jesus is eating with sinners. The Pharisees scoffed at Jesus and questioned why He would sit with sinners if He is the Son of God. Christ answers in Matt. 9:12 saying, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick”. I think it’s common to sometimes feel that we are not worthy of Christ’s love and comfort because of the mistakes we’ve made. But that is the time when we need His love the most. There is nothing that can come between you and your Savior.

I love how in his book The Continuous Atonement, Brad Wilcox talks about how Christ has already made up all of the difference. I think one reason we get stuck in the mind sight of not being worthy of his love is because we think we need to reach a certain level before He will help us. This thinking leads us to a sense of despair when we sin because it feels like we’ll never experience the joy of His comfort and grace. However Bro. Wilcox explains that because Christ has already made up all of the difference, we can always receive that grace. While we of course still need to do the best we can, our Elder Brother will be with us every step of the way.

So when all is said and done, how do we find and experience that comfort?

It’s all well and good to talk about how Christ is always there to comfort us. But how do we experience it and feel His comfort and love? While most would call them “the Sunday school answers” I believe they are Life’s Answers. The one that I want to focus on is prayer. One of my favorite quotes reads, “If life gets too hard to stand, kneel”. For me prayer is like my foundation. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling homesick for Heaven every so often. Prayer is so essential in these times. It closes the gap between Heaven and us. In D&C 10:5 it reads, “Pray always that you may come off conqueror, yea, that you may conquer Satan”. Prayer literally gives us the power to overcome darkness and discouragement. It lifts us up into a place of light and peace. Now it’s important to note that I’m not talking about the quick prayers when we are too tired to think or before rushing out the door. I’m talking about the prayers when you sincerely have a conversation with God. Prayer is a two-way communication line, not one. I know that if you kneel in reverent conversation with God, that you will be comforted and brought to a happier place.

Simply,

Kenzie M